Caleb Plant made a big statement in his comeback fight.
The former 168-pound owner, after a knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez in May, knocked out Anthony Dirrell with a single left hook in the final seconds of round 9 on the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius card on Thursday. Seven in Brooklyn, New York.
The official stoppage time is 2:57 of the half.
The fight was competitive and relatively uncompromising until injury time, though Plant appeared to have outpaced his 38-year-old opponent by more than eight rounds.
Caleb Plant puts Anthony Dirrell to sleep pic.twitter.com/2zvCYjE00P
– Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 16, 2022
Then, as time was ticking on in Round 9, Plant landed left on the body, followed by left on the head causing Dirrell to lie on his side and out.
Dirrell had trouble getting up from the tarp, an indication of how injured he was. He eventually regained his senses and was able to walk off the ring unaided, even though he had nothing to say.
“This win is great,” Plant said. “You’ve heard about how much he hates me… but it’s my head and my heart that won this fight. I was in control the whole time. My coach told me to be patient and relaxed and that’s what we did. Then boom!
Plant was ranked by all four sanctioning bodies participating in the competition, number 1 by the WBC. On Saturday, he proved against a resilient casual opponent that he deserves another title challenge.
“I’m ready for anything,” he said. “I’ll be spending time with my family, but then I’m ready for the biggest battles we can take.”
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